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Warfleet
UNSC UNSC Heavy Corvette Gladius-class *'Manufacturer:' TanSec AB *'Hull Code:' FS Corvette *'Roles:' Interdiction; patrol; security *'Crew:' 15 Navy *'Troops:' None *'Length:' 243 meters *'Mass:' 36,000 metric tons *'Armament:' 1x 20SA1C2 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon; 2x M58 Archer missile pods; 6x M870 Rampart point defense guns The Gladius-class is a small, slipspace-capable warship used by UNSC Navy battle groups assigned to the Inner Colonies. Substantially outgunned by most Covenant warships, UNSC corvettes rarely participate in major fleet engagements and rely on their small size and low sensor profile to avoid unwinnable fights. *'Point Defense Guns' **UNSC vessels use compact, rapid-fire coilgun turrets for defence against Covenant strikecraft and to disrupt incoming plasma torpedoes. These guns are entirely automated, as calculating firing solutions in the heat of battle is far beyond the means of any human. *'Titanium-A Battleplate' **Human warships are armoured with thick layers of molecularly-reinforced titanium, elastic polymers, and intermetallic laminate that mitigate damage from both directed energy and kinetic attacks. The space between the armour plates is filled with shock-hardening fluids and encapsulated healing agents to reduce spall from impacts and automatically seal small hull breaches. *'Sensor Suite' **Human ships use a combination of laser and radar scanners for actively detecting and tracking targets, but also passively monitor surrounding space for anomalous energy sources. The crew and AI ship director have access to hundreds, even thousands, of easily understandable real-time reports via displays that intelligently combine and fuse this data. UNSC Pillar of Autumn, Halcyon-class light cruiser *'Hull Code:' C-709 *'Naval Architects:' Dr. Robert McLees; Senior Engineer Adam Croket refit *'Manufacturer:' Reyes-McLees Shipyards, Mars *'Mass:' 9 million metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' 2x Boglin Fields Starfire-IV fusion rockets primary *'Translight Engine:' Kawanishi Engineering SED-2550X V CODEN *'Crew:' 1,000 Navy *'Troops:' 800 Marines; 400 ODST *'Armament:' 1x 56A2D4 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon; 8x Mark 33 Spitfire naval coilgun battleries; 6x M66 Sentry autocannon turrets; 32x M58 Archer missile pods; 18x M910 Rampart point defense guns *'Complement:' 2x D96 Albatross cargo dropships; 12x D77 Pelican dropships; 5x GA-TL1 Longsword fighter-bombers; 60x M12 Warthog all-terrain vehicles; 20x M808 Scorpion tanks, 216x M8823 SOEIV drop pods. *'Launched:' December 1. 2510 *'Destroyed:' September 22, 2552 Dozens of Halcyon-class vessels served in the UNSC Navy, but only one made its mark on history. Selected for a mission that could end the Covenant War, Pillar of Autumn was plucked from obscurity to become one of the most important ships in human history. Chosen for its durability and expandability, the Autumn was given special upgrades and placed under the command of Captain Jacob Keyes shortly before the Covenant assault on Reach. When Reach fell, the Pillar of Autumn escaped destruction, only to find itself in an unexplored star system overlooking a massive ringworld: Halo. *'Dropship Bays' **The'Autumn's drop pod bays were substantially expanded for Operation: RED FLAG. *'Auxiliary Fusion Rockets' **These high-thrust rockets are inefficient but compact. *'Planetary Scanners' **Planetary survey sensors and probe/satellite launchers *Command Bridge **Omega-pattern bridge upgraded with a Tier III DataCore to hold Cortana. *Foremast **Slipspace navigation sensors and hardened battlenet transponders. *Magnetic Accelerator Cannon MAC **The Pillar of Autumn's main gun extends two-thirds the length of the ship. *Experimental Systems **Rapid-cycling MAC coils and prototype capacitors significantly increased the firepower of the ship. *Intraship transit system **A network of lifts, stairs, and mag-rail platforms allows for quick travel within the ship. *Multipurpose Scan Array **Contains tactical sensors and electronic eavesdropping suite. *Fusion Reactors **Three massive Mark II Hanley-Messer reactors recharge the MAC and power the engines. *Naval Autocannons **Each Spitfire turret mounts two rapid-fire naval coilguns *Armoured Hull **The Pillar of Autumn's hull is wrapped in plates of the latest Titanium-A ablative armour plating. UNSC Heavy Cruiser Autumn-class *'Manufacturer:' SinoViet Heavy Machinery *'Hull Code:' CA Cruiser *'Roles:' Attack; command; escort *'Crew:' 800 Navy *'Troops:' 45 Marines; 220 ODST *'Length:' 1,425 metres *'Mass:' 10.1 million metric tons *'Armament:' 1x 45J3D3 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon; 4x Mark 40 Spitfire naval coilgun batteries; 6x M66 Sentry autocannon turrets; 32 M58 Archer missile pods; 6x M910 Rampart point defense guns The Autumn''0class strikes a balance between mobility, armour, firepower, crew requirements, and ease of manufacturing. The first ships of this class were built on recycled ''Halcyon-class light cruiser hulls, with improvements and modifications tested on the Pillar of Autumn for Operation: RED FLAG. UNSC Cruisers are heavily armed and armoured capital ships which engage and destroy enemy warships that would otherwise threaten the fleet's carriers. Much of their resilience comes from the installation of thick Titanium-A armour plates, which boil off under Covenant plasma bombardment, sparring the internal structure, weapons, and crew from critical damage until it is eroded away. *'Docking Ring' **UNSC-standard airlock and cargo reception port for crew and consumables transfer. *'Shield-Reinforced armour' **The Autumn-class vessels feature a novel of variation of electromagnetic armour that incorporates a distributed array of small shield generators, which are cheaper and easier to manufacture. When the outer Titanium-A hull plates are hit, a sensor within the armour triggers transient energy shield effect localized on the point of impact. *Long-Range Sensors **Though most tactical systems are similar to other late-Covenant warships, the Autumn-class adds replicated Covenant hyperscanner detectors combined with state of the art naval battlenet relays to its sensory arsenal. *Scanning Capacity **Planetary survey sensors and probe launchers deploy microsatellite constellations and drones in support of orbital and ground operations *Archer Pods **Long-range anti-ship missile launchers *Armour Cowlings **The distinctive armoured cowls protecting the fusion engines on UNSC warships are a result of costly lessons learned during the anti-insurrection campaigns. *Pelican Dropship **Up to twelve D77 or D79 Pelican dropships are carried aboard each cruiser during missions. *Naval Autocannons **Mark 40 Spitfire naval cannons have higher muzzle velocity, improved tracking speed, and better accuracy than their famous and widely used Mark 33 predecessor. The gun mount is also armoured with a new Titanium-A formulation that shaves several tons off each turret without compromising protection. *Modular Hangar Bays **The Autumn-class can swap out containerized mission modules and partition its cargo holds to focus on different objectives. The orbital assault and strikes configuration is described here, which adds docking cradles for Darter cargo dropships and blast-shielded ammo storage for ODST and gunship munitions. *Drop Pod Bays **Nicknamed "Hell's Waiting Room," the Autumn-class fits six drop pod bays and cramped accommodations for an ODST company and their gear. Up to 216 SOEIV and cargo drop pods can be deployed simultaneously from the bay racks after the armoured doors are opened. UNSC Interceptor, F-41E Broadsword *'Manufacturer:' Misriah Armory *'Designation Code:' F Fighter *'Roles:' Strike; intercept *'Crew:' 1 pilot *'Length:' 20.2 metres *'Mass:' 35 metric tons *'Armament:' 2x M1075 autocannons; 2x M6088 Medusa missile pods; 1x Class-III hardpoint The Broadsword is a multi-role strike fighter, able to operate in and outside of the atmosphere, used by both the UNSC Air Force and Navy, as well as planetary defence forces. Manufactured in the tens of thousands during the Covenant War, the Broadsword's design plans were widely distributed and easily adapted to fabrication facilities found on many Outer Colony worlds. A large number of trained pilots and availability of parts after the war has made "demilitarized" derivations of the Broadsword extremely popular with security contractors and mercenary groups. UNSC fighters are mobile weapon platforms that use high acceleration and maneuverability to engage enemy warships and strike craft at close range with missiles and rapid-fire projectile weapons. Fighters also act as mobile point defence screens, are deployed as long-range scouts, and strike critical targets on planetary surfaces. *Post-War upgrades **The F-41E entered service in 2554 and incorporates design improvements and deferred upgrades which were impossible to implement under wartime conditions. In addition to energy shielding and reformulated Titanium-A armour panels, the sensor system has been updated with the capability to track, identify, and prioritize hundreds of targets. *Cockpit **Modern Broadswords feature a full Cyberlink interface for augmented pilots, inertial compensators to mitigate the physical effects of high-G maneuvers, and targeting software compatible with VISR interfaces. *Autocannons **M1075 autocannons on retracable semi-articulated armatures. * UNSC Destroyer, Halberd-class *'Manufacturer:' SinoViet Heavy Machinery *'Hull Code:' DD Destroyer *'Roles:' Attack; escort *'Crew:' 250 Navy *'Troops:' 50 Marines *'Length:' 485 metres *'Mass:' 1.8 million metric tons *'Armament:'1x 14B11R2 MAC battery; 26x M58 Archer missile pods; 4x M870 Rampart point defense guns. Fast and requiring only a small crew, what the Halberd-class destroyer lacks in general-purpose utility it makes up for in firepower. It can be easily configured for different missions, but resource shortfalls during the Covenant War meant most Halberd destroyers were configured purely for escort duty, with entire subsystems and hull sections left out to reduce construction time and crew requirements. UNSC Destroyers combine heavy armament with high speed and thick armour. These small warships use wolfpack tactics to engage Covenant vessels with coordinated MAC gun fire and hit-and-run attacks, overwhelming their target's defences, which were often superior. *Hangar **The hangar on Halberd-class vessels was state-of-the-art at the time of its introduction, featuring a specialized set of gravity generators that can decelerate incoming small craft or accelerate them at launch. Traditional electromagnetic launch hooks and arrestor cables are still fitted, for emergencies. *Magnetic Accelerator Cannons **The Halberd is fitted with two MAC launch trails. The primary MAC is capable of firing all standard munition packages, ranging from hyper-dense kinetic kill slugs to semi-autonomous drone missiles, while only kinetic rounds are carried for the smaller cannon. *Navy Crew Quarters **Living accommodations on Covenant War-era UNSC military vessels are cramped and strictly utilitarian; most ships lack recreational options and have only rudimentary kitchen facilities. Each crew member is allocated an individual sleeping pod, but crew shifts alternate, sharing the same pods when the ship carries additional personnel. *Bridge **UNSC Navy design guidelines emphasize that the command crew require visibility of the surrounding area, a tradition dating back to the era of terrestrial naval warfare. *Capacitor Cells **Damaged and degraded MAC capacitor cells can be quickly swapped out. *Pelican Dropship **Two dropships are carried aboard each Halberd. *Battleplate **A key difference between frigates and destroyers is the latter's use of thicker and higher-quality Titanium-A armour plating. Replacement armour plates can be quickly cut to shape and patched onto the ship at any naval depot, though repairs to the underlying structure often have to wait. *Fusion Drives **The Halberd and other human warships couple massive reactors with fusion rockets for propulsion, generating both power and directing thrust with Deuterium and Helium-3 and hydrogen or water reaction mass. The superheated exhaust is redirected with thrust-vectoring plates and magnetic fields to increase maneuverability. In Amber Clad, Stalward-class light frigate *'Hull Code:' FFG-142 *'Naval Architects:' Distinguished Naval Engineer David Pulver; Dr. Eugene Taylor *'Manufacturer:' SinoViet Naval Yard AS-9, Reach *'Mass:' 0.93 million metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' 2x OKB Karman 56K fusion drives *'Translight:' Starwerx FTL-290C IV CODEN *'Crew:' 250 Navy *'Troops:' 200 Marines; 64 ODST *'Armament:' 1x 56A2D4 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon; 16x M58 Archer missile pods; 76x M340A4 Streak missile pods; 6x M870 Rampart point defense guns; 52x M710 Bulwark point defense guns *'Complement:' *'Launched:' *'Destroyed:' UNSC Heavy frigate, Strident-class *'Manufacturer:' Aerofabrique SA *'Hull Code:' FF Frigate *'Roles:' Escort; attack *'Crew:' 190 Navy *'Troops:' None *'Length:' 575 metres *'Mass:' 1.1 million metric tons *'Armament:' 1x 94B1E6 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon; 1x M4093 Hyperion missile silo; 5x Mark 55 Caster naval coilguns; 2x M42 Archer missile pods; 6x Mark 57 Arena point defense guns; 6x M870 Rampart point defense guns Designed latte in the Covenant War, the Striden-class implements hard-earned lessons from earlier frigate designs and was the testbed for streamlined manufacturing techniques intended to accelerate production. The final design is a lean and lethal warship that blurs the line between destroyer and frigate. Frigates are flying MAC guns that rely on their speed, low sensor signature, and sheer weight of numbers to engage enemy capital ships. To compensate for their relative fragility, frigates maneuver and attack as synchronized groups to minimize exposure to plasma torpedoes and energy projectors. *Post-War Frigates **Frigates fufill a number of roles in the UNSC Navy, from convoy escort to troop transport. In the aftermath of the Covenant War, hundreds of multi-purpose Strident and Anlace-class frigates are being assembled in shipyards above Mars and Tribute to replace combat losses and engage remnant Covenant forces occupying the former Outer Colonies. *Hyperion Silo **Strident-class frigates carry three massive Hyperion missiles for attacking targets of strategic significance. It requires several minutes to load and prepare each missile. *Booster Frame **The OV92/EVA Booster Frame is a heavily-armed, open-frame space fighter specifically designed for use by Spartan operatives to quickly engage Covenant forces in deep space and disable or board ships of high strategic significance *Heavy MAC **The 94B1E6 heavy MAC and its twelve massive capacitor banks give the Strident firepower comparable to destroyers and light cruisers. The small size of the frigate limits the amount of ammunition carried, but most UNSC combat operations take place nearly supply depots. *Castor Naval Autocannons **The Castor is a large railgun that fires a variety of specialized ammunition, including experimental shield-piercing rounds. The Strident-class mounts five turrets fitted with the Castor, three of which are in a "Quickshot" configuration paired with two smaller Arena guess cannons. *Pelican Dropship **A single Pelican is housed in an internal hangar, but three more can be carried on hull clamps. *Bridge **The Strident features a state of the art combat management system, and a datacore capable of hosting a smart AI director. The AI and automated systems handle target detection, threat evaluation, tracking, and calculation of firing solutions, the crew sets target priority and authorizes systems release. *Engine Armour **Easily replaceable Titanium-A armour panels protect the delicate engines. *Energy Shielding **Production delays mean most Strident-class ships are not fitted with energy shielding, though small generators capable of sealing the hangar and main airlocks are standard. Channels for waveguides and bay sockets for emitters are installed, making final integration of energy shields a straightforward process once modules are available. *Point Defense Guns **Rampart turrets are point defence emplacements combining quad-mount coilguns and a targeting scanner. Each Rampart evaluates incoming threats and sets the ammunition to either sub-calibre armour-piercing sabots or proximity detonation fragmentation shells on a target-by-target. UNSC Heavy Carrier, Epoch-class *'Manufacturer:' SinoViet Heavy Machinery *'Hull Code:' CV Carrier *'Roles:' Support; interdiction; escort *'Crew:' 1,300 Navy *'Troops:' 800 Marines *'Length:' 2,563 metres *'Mass:' 35 million metric tons *'Armament:' 1x 56A2F9 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon; 2x Mark 15 Breakwater naval coilgun batteries; 12x M66 Sentry autocannon turrets; 20x M4020 Bident missile pods; 70x M58 Archer missile pods; 12x M870 Rampart point defence guns; 20x M810 Helix point defence guns Epoch-class heavy carriers formed the core of many naval battle groups during the Insurrection and early years of the Covenant War. Each ship carries both aerospace units and ground troops and is capable of projecting UNSC naval power by dominating the orbital high ground, then deploying strike fighters and troop transports to high-value areas on the surface. The UNSC Navy has always been a carrier-heavy force, with massive supercarriers forming the core of major expeditionary fleets as command ships while various tactical carriers fill a similar role for smaller battlegroups and defensive fleets. *Light MAC **The 56A2F9 Mass Accelerator Cannon is a rapid-fire variant of the system installed on Stalwart-class frigates. Though intended as a defensive weapon, the Epoch-class often added its firepower to coordinated MAC volleys in order to overwhelm and shatter the Covenant's advanced energy shields. *Longsword **The C709 Longsword is a long endurance spacecraft used by the UNSC Navy in a variety of combat roles. Large and imposing, this model of Longsword was widely used throughout the Covenant War, as its weapon loadout could be tailed for a variety of missions and needs. Too large to be carried in most hangars, the C709 docks to ships using clamps and access umbilicals. *Secondary Weapon Batteries **The Sentry cannons and Rampart point defence guns on the Epoch are sufficient to defend the ship against small attack ships and bombers that break through the escorting battle group but are of limited use against a larger enemy warship. *Pelican Dropship **An Epoch has twelve hangar bays, each of which holds three dropships and two fighters. *Flight Crew **Carrier flight crews are a mix of Navy and Marine personnel, administratively divided into what is nicknamed "Blue" and "Green" sides, respectively. The crew wear coloured jerseys to distinguish their function while working within the hangar and supporting flight operations: red for ordnance handlers, white for safety personnel, green for technicians, and so on. *Sabre **The Sabre program's goal was to offer the UNSC a swift, versatile, and utterly lethal defence interceptor that could engage Covenant forces in deep space and low orbit, preventing them from establishing a dominant position before ground operations commenced. While only a few hundred Sabres were produced before war's end, operational squadrons racked up an impressive kill count. UNSC Infinity *'Hull Code:' INF-101 *'Naval Architects:' VADM Elizabeth Sark, CDR Oscar Greyson, Dr. Dana Wolff, Dr Sada no Okuni *'Manufacturer:' Special Assembly Plant Concord, Sol *'Mass:' 907 million metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' xR2 Boglin Fields S81/Xfusion drive primary *'Translight Engine:' Mark X Macedon/Z-Prototype #78720HDS Revision 2.1 *'Crew:' 8,900 Navy; 1,700 ONI; 480 YEG; 24 Swords of Sanghelios; 8 Special Assets *'Troops:' 5,400 Marines; REDACTED Spartans; 800 Army; 750 ODST; 200 Air Force *'Armament:' 4x CR-03B Series 8 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons; 350x M42 Archer missile pods; 250x M75 Rapier missile pods; 190x M97 Lance missile pods; 500x M96 Howler missile pods; 86x M85 Scythe anti-aerospace turrets; 10x Mark 2551 Onager MAC turrets; 830x M965 Fortress point defense guns *'Shielding:' Misriah Armory MG-44N Heavy Dispersal Field Generators *'Complement:' 10x Anlace or Strident-class frigates; 8x D96 Albatross cargo dropships; 150x D-79H-TC Pelican dropships or F-41E Broadsword fighters; 80x M850 Scorpion tanks; 329x M9407 SOEIV drop pods;; 124x M8823 HEV drop pods. *'Launched:' March 22, 2553 UNSC Infinity is by far the most potent ship ever built by humanity, incorporating technologies and manufacturing techniques decades ahead of their time. The vast quantities of resources needed for its construction pushed Earth to its limit during the Covenant War, draining resources and personnel that would otherwise have been used in defence of the colonies. However, Infinity served a larger mission that justified the sacrifice: a potential lifeboat for the human species if the alien empire could not be stopped. Infinity was finished too late to sway the outcome of the Covenant War but arrived just in time to have a major impact on its aftermath. *Flagship of the fleet **The Infinity serves as an ambassador for the UEG and flagship of the UNSC Navy, conducting dangerous but strategically important missions throughout the Orion Arm. Under the command of Captain Thomas Lasky, Infinity has been instrumental in defending Earth and her colonies, protecting diplomats at interspecies peace talks, and exploring new worlds. *Aft-sensor array **Long-range hyperscanner and luminary *Engine module interlinks **Interlocks based on Covenant control restrictors connect the Forerunner engine module to UNSC-standard power and data feeds. *Science Deck **State-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities, provided by ONI and the Watershed Division. *Memorial Park **The atrium area contains garden plots and activity centres under an artificial skydome. *Crew Quarters **The Infinity is almost entirely self-sufficient, with facilities and comforts normally only seen on colony ships. *War Games **Infinity contains several training areas, including the second largest military simulation and test environment in the human sphere. *Magnetic Accelerator Cannon **Each CR-03B MAC can fire kill packages, deliver cargo pods, and even launch small spacecraft. *Command Bridge **Captain Thomas Lasky and his executive officers are found here. *Marine Expeditionary Units **A Marine expeditionary division and drop battalion of ODSTs is permanently assigned to the ship. These troops are organized into five task forces, each of which can operate independently. *Wavecom Datalinks **Supraluminal communication system *Forerunner Translight Engine **The translight engine of the Infinity is built around a recovered Forerunner slipspace drive core of extraordinary power. This ancient mechanism can draw upon foaming vacuum energy, independent of the ship's fusion power plants. *Sub-vessel bays **Ten internal hangars and docking clamps allow the Infinity to carry and support its own small fleet of frigates *Sublight Engine **The city-sized engine module took fifteen years to design, build, and test. *2558 Retrofit **The Infinity completed a maintenance and overhaul cycle late in 2558, with several hull sections and weapons systems swapped out for pre-manufactured modules intended for its incomplete sister ship, the Eternity. Integration of these systems is ongoing. *Project: Ouroboros **The R&D work that resulted in Infinity was one of several pillars within Project: OUROBOROS, the UEG's ever-evolving plan for the continuance of human civilization. A hedge against extinction, Infinity was first imagined as a mobile colony to carry survivors to distant stars in the event of social collapse triggered by the Insurrection, Covenant, or other catastrophes. Many of its supporters were unaware that it was eventually repurposed for a military role. The sensitive nature of these plans and potential impact on UNSC morale meant construction of the Infinity was undertaken in strict secrecy. UNSC Dropship, D77-TC Pelican *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' UNSC Stealth Corvette, Winter-class *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' Spirit of Fire, Phoenix-class colony ship *'Hull Code:' CFV-88 *'Naval Architects:' First Engineer Brandon Hines; VADM Shauna Glasgow *'Manufacturer:' Halifax Spacewerx, Luna *'Mass:' 44 million metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' 6x Orphios Energy Systems Jupiter-1 primary *'Translight Drive:' 0KB Karman 11E Series III *'Crew:' 3,500 Navy; 1 UEG *'Troops:' 6,000 Marines; 2,000 Army; 1,000 ODST *'Armament:' 3x 22B6R3 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons; 10x 11A2R1 naval coilgun batteries; 24x M42 Archer missile pods; 40x M800 Rampart point defense guns *'Complement:' 10x D20 Heron heavy-lift dropships; 6x D96 Albatross cargo dropships; 56x D82 Darter cargo dropships; 70x D77 Pelican dropships; 178x M12 Warthog all-terrain vehicles; 93x M808 Scorpion tanks; 600x M8823 HEV drop pods *'Launched:' January 2, 2473 The Spirit of Fire is a heavily upgraded Phoenix-class colonial support vessel, tasked with deploying ground troops and prefabricated firebase facilities in support of UNSC expeditionary operations. Cavernous cargo bays that once held prefabricated domiciles and atmosphere processors now hold mobile armouries and Pelican dropships, and its modular factory systems were upgraded and retooled to produce the latest UNSC military hardware, including self-assembling base modules which can be drop-deployed directly to combat zones. As a civilian ship, the Spirit of Fire participated in the latter stages of the Domus Diaspora, making perilous slipspace trips to distant worlds in order to establish terraforming facilities and factories on behalf of the UEG and megacorporations. For half a century the vessel was a vital part of Earth's colonization program, including operations to set up infrastructure on what became Arcadia and Verent. It was not until the height of the Insurrection that the Spirit of Fire was transferred to UNSC control and refitted as a fleet support ship for the frontier military expeditions. *Archer pods **Though the ship's store of missiles is practically bottomless, the limited number of launch tubes restricts the ship's bombardment capability. *Hangars **Darter cargo dropships and orbital transfer vehicles are held in the eight primary transfer bays on the ship's flanks. These hangars connect to an immense cargo hold and stretch from one side of the ship to the other. *Missing Slipspace Drive **The ship's slipspace drive was sacrificed to destroy a Forerunner shield world and its fleet of dreadnoughts, which the Covenant sought to control. Unfortunately, slipspace cores are one of the few things the ship's factories cannot replicate. *Recreation block **Comfortable crew space containing the ship's aeroponics farm, hobby workshops, and education terminals. *Upgraded Fusion drive **The fusion drive was upgraded in 2530, using parts salvaged from the destroyer UNSC Calcutta. *The Second Ark Conflict **After assisting in the initial campaign to retake the colony Harvest and blunting a Covenant offensive at Arcadia in 2531, the Spirit of Fire disappeared, and the ship was eventually declared "lost with all hands." It reappeared in 2559, when the crew awakened from cryosleep above the Forerunner's Ark, having reached its extragalactic location through unknown means. *Observation deck **Crammed with storage tubes, datataps, tables, and tools, this area has been commandeered to serve as a laboratory and workshop by the sole civilian on board, Professor Ellen Anders. *Heron cargo dropships **The Spirit of Fire carries ten Heron heavy-lift cargo dropships, each of which can deploy prefabricated base structures or ground forces at a moment's notice. *War Factories **The Spirit of Fire is fitted with robotic factory lines capable of producing virtually every vehicle or prefabricated struture in the UNSC inventory, given access to the appropriate materials and design templates. The ship was fortuitously overstocked with parts and supplies before it deployed to Harvest, in preparation for a sustained siege. UNSC Drop pod, M8823 Single-Occupant Exoatmospheric insertion vehicle *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' *':' Covenant Covenant Storm Cutter, DAS-class Et Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Primary Assembly Forge *'Roles:' Pursuit; scout; harrasment *'Crew:' 1 Superior; 15 Menials *'Troops:' 1 Obedientary; 10 Warriors *'Length:' 225 metres *'Mass:' 41,000 metric tons *'Armament:' 4x Emri Ka-pattern light plasma lances; 4x Enteros-pattern plasma beam emitters; 4x Phot Et-pattern pulse lasers *'Defence Array' **The Covenant see little distinction between avoiding and mitigating damage and use a variety of active jammers, deception field generators, and auto-repair systems working in harmony to ensure ships remain effective in combat, even after their shields fall and nanocomposite hulls are pierced. Covenant damage control techniques are also ruthless and effective with little attention paid to crew survival or safety. *'Hyperscanners' **Covenant sensors provide extremely detailed information on any object within range, including internal scans and structural composition. Covenant crews have difficulty interpreting the sheer volume of information available, and their workstations typically filter anything, not of immediate tactical significance. *'Energy Shielding' **Energy shields are interlocking fields of invisible force that absorb and redirect incoming attacks. Though not impregnable, shields can be reinforced, and not regenerate as long as their emitters remain intact and powered. UNSC tactics soon developed to overload shields with overwhelming firepower and then deliver a killing blow before they could recycle. Covenant Strike Craft, Seraph Kai Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Tertiary Assembly Forges *'Roles:' Aerospace superiority *'Crew:' 1 Obedientary *'Length:' 23.9 metres *'Mass:' 50 metric tons *'Armament:' 4x Tevaas Mu-pattern plasma cannons; 2x Novox-pattern fuel rod cannons The Seraph is a nimble, lightly shielded, single-man fighter piloted by Sangheili or Jiralhanae. In most fleets, Seraphs are organized into squadrons "talons" in Covenant nomenclature of eight or more strikecraft that split into hunting pairs when on a mission. Though human pilots had significant tactical advantages in many encounters, and often greatly outnumbered the Covenant during initial engagements, the technological superiority of the Seraph was often insurmountable. In the hands of Sangheili pilots, Covenant strikecraft are war chariots used to attain personal glory, with any military purpose considered secondary. Driven by notions of honour and righteousness, Sangheili pilots hope to accumulate enough acclaim to be allowed to join the chosen few on the ground. The vehicles themselves were not worthy of recognition and were simply tools to be expended in battle. Though their training emphasizes cooperation and mutual support, the Sangheili pilots' tendency is to split off and engage targets without assistance. The Jiralhanae had a different relationship with their machines, with pilots jealously guarding those they had claimed and giving them secret names. Clan sigils and Forerunner glyphs were hand-carved into the hulls to signify battle honours and damage scars, and the pilots of each ship formed close-knit packs that ate, fought, and died together. Though they were not given the training allowed to Sangheili it was Brute Seraph squadrons that human pilots learned to fear the most. *'Plasma Cannons' **Seraphs are armed with four plasma cannons that are fired in twin-linked pairs. On the Kai variant, these cannons are offset at angels for better peripheral coverage. Gravitic mirrors installed around each emitter focus and aim the plasma fusillade. *'Control Pod' **Reinforced and armoured pilot's station with multi-port connectors for Covenant combat harnesses. *'Impulse Drive' **Powered by a pinch-fusion reactor, impulse drives convert energy and a small amount of exotic matter into thrust, creating a vivid stream of virtual neutrons and photons as a byproduct. Power can be redirected from other systems to temporarily boost acceleration. *'Harmonization Array' **The tail assembly of the Seraph in a thrust vectoring system for the impulse drive, redirecting the exhaust to increase maneuverability. This array is physically articulated in the Morsam pattern. *'Multiphase Energy Shielding' **The Seraph is fitted with energy shield generators that deflect and divert both directed-energy and kinetic attacks. The shields also reinforce the Seraph's inertial compensation system, allowing it to absorb the energy from collisions and impacts that would rip other ships apart. *'Auto Repair' **Seraph damage control systems dynamically reroute data and power links around critically-hit locations and remodel portions of the hull to compensate for aerodynamic instability. *'Pilots' **Most Seraph pilots are drawn from the ranks of Obedientaries: veteran warriors who have set foot on the path of command and now must experience every facet of war. *'Machine Links' **Covenant strikecraft pilots connect to their flight systems using direct neural interfaces, with minimal safety cutouts and filters. The pilot's body is rendered immobile to prevent self-injury, and agony is inflicted in exchange for superior control. Sangheili enters battle meditation before completing a machine link to control the pain, while Jiralhanae embraces the interface burn to trigger their own focus. Covenant Hevy Destroyer, CPV-class Sinaris Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Primary Assembly Forges *'Roles:' Compliance *'Crew:' 4 Superiors; 2 Engineers; 400 Menials *'Troops:' 50 Obedientaries; 100 Warriors; 1,900 Thralls *'Length:' 1,664 metres *'Mass:' 115 million metric tons *'Armament:' 1x Infernus-pattern superheavy excavation beams; 24x Melusean-pattern heavy plasma cannons; 2x Aljordan-pattern plasma beam emitters; 6x Jaet-pattern plasma torpedo siloss; 40x Carnax Et-pattern plasma bombardment mortars; 20x Gon-pattern pulse lasers A relentless engine of destruction, the CPV-class heavy destroyer remains one of the most feared warship silhouettes across human space. However, its role within the Covenant military was that of a ship for disgraced warriors who had fallen from the path of the great journey, crewed by those deemed unstable or unsuitable for service in the regular Ministry fleets. The shipmaster of these vessels had their reputation damaged by disloyalty or disobedience, and have few other paths to return to the rolls of honour. Dedicated warship classes were rare in the Covenant, as fleets were called upon to conduct as many missions relating to trade and transport as they were in conversion and compliance. Those dedicated to the liquidation of threats and enforcement of the Prophet's wishes were usually assigned to the longe-range expeditionary fleets and kept far from High Charity, a distasteful reminder that the Gret Journey could not be completed without refined violence and waste. The executioners of the Covenant navy had no role except for violence, no design goal beyond military expediency. Luckily for humanity, such ships were too dangerous to be made readily available in times of peace, and the nature of their mission meant that relatively few were available to Covenant fleets early in the war. Those ships recalled fro the outer reached served the Prophets in their campaign against the humans but gained little honour for their grim work. *Covenant Ministries **Strictly speaking, the Covenant lacked a standing military. Instead, it possessed a multitude of martial organizations influence by one or more Ministries; governing bodies that directed vital religious and secular activities and promotion of their orthodox until they were all swept up in the Great Schism and ground into dust. *The Furnace **The forward third of the ship is dominated by the pinch-fusion reactor which powers the excavation beam. *Cleansing Beam **The plasma generator and focusing arrays of the CPV's excavation beam give it the same power and precision as those used on assault carriers. Their operators tuned the beams with unmatched artistry, entwining magnetic fields and plasma burn sigils into human colonies or carefully extract Forerunner reliquaries hidden on dead worlds. *Armour Plates **Covenant vessels use a lightweight but extraordinarily resilient diamondoid and metal-matrix composite frame, covered by thin plates of nanolaminate armour. Each ship is grown in massive assembly forges, built up piece-by-piece by clouds of programmable nanomachines. *Siege Cannons **The plasma mortar gunners obey orders without question or mercy, even if that means the incidental loss of faithful Covenant warriors in the target area. *Reluctant Attendants **CRS-class light cruisers tasked with escorting destroyers and other executioners did so without fervour and could never be counted on to perform more than their basic defensive tasks, *Secondary Reactors **Pinch fusion reactors use artificial gravity generators to initiate and sustain a fusion reaction, replication conditions inside stars. Pinch fusion reactors generate an enormous amount of power and plasma but are volatile; they detonate with the fury of a small supernova if containment fails. Truth and Reconciliation, CCS-class Ket Pattern Battlecruiser *'Naval Architects:' Master Shipwright Ssne 'Mowusee; Master Shipwright Nkmo 'Ehtaree *'Manufacturer:' Muse of Yevon, Aanrar Shipyard *'Mass:' 90.7 million metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' 2x Gablien-pattern repulsor engines *'Translight Engine:' Ophon-pattern borer Series VI equivalent *'Length:' 1,782 metres *'Height:' 231 metres *'Crew:' 8 Superiors; 2 Engineers; 500 Menials *'Troops:' 180 Obedientaries; 2,500 Warriors; 4,100 Thralls *'Armament:' 1x Profero-pattern excavation beam; 1x Ignis-pattern plasma lance; 42x Sono-pattern plasma cannons; 16x Serpens-pattern plasma torpedo silos; 50x Gon-pattern pulse lasers *'Shielding:' Corvex-pattern dispersal field generators *'Complement:' 32x Seraph/Tasque strikecraft; 10x Spirit dropships; 50x Banshee flyers; 48 Wraith tanks; 150x Ghost scouts; 55x Insertion pods Assembled on the direct order of the Prophet of Regret, Truth and Reconciliation was under the command of the-Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, who had shown great zeal in exterminating all who interfered with the Great Journey. Assigned to the fleet honoured with destroying the human fortress world of Reach, Truth and Reconciliation was one of the first ships to trace the destination of the escaping Pillar of Autumn and begin pursuit. What they found there brought the crew to their knees; one of the seven Holy Rings that could release a divine wind and propel all who were worthy to holy transcendence. *Final Days **In the chaotic aftermath of the Flood's release on Alpha Halo, Truth and Reconciliation were captured by the surviving human forces on the ring, led by ODST Major Antonio Silva. Settling course for Earth, Major Silva ignored warnings that the Flood parasite was still hiding onboard. In response, one of Silva's own officers sabotaged the battlecruiser's controls, causing the Truth and Reconciliation to crash and explode on the ring's surface. *Battlecruiser **Produced in great numbers by dozens of shipyards, the Ket-pattern CCS-class battlecruiser is a workhouse design that serves a wide variety of functions for the Covenant navy. Its sleek and deadly hull is instantly recognizable to even the greenest UNSC cadet. *Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee **Buried in an armoured spur of the ship, the bridge was Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee's private domain. Elevated from the Zealot order by the Prophet of Regret's own hand, 'Ravamee was a fanatical believer in the Great Journey who would sacrifice anything and anyone in its pursuit. *Armoured Hull **Shield-reinforced layers of nanolaminate can withstand even the fury of nearby nuclear explosions. *Hangar **The multi-deck hangar area holds dropships, cargo containers, and troops awaiting their chance to acquire glory on the battlefield. *Main Reactor **The largest pinch fusion reactor provides the energy to ignite plasma torpedoes and charge the excavation beam. *Repulsor Engine **Repulsor engines use stacked tidal gravity generator which "push/pull" the ships in the desired vector. This generates quantum fluctuations in the ship's wake that are extremely hazardous to nearby vessels particularly when operating at high "thrust". *Plasma Torpedoes **Inert plasma torpedo cores are roughly cylindrical objects that range between 3-5 metres in length. Thousands are carefully packaged and stored in munition racks before each deployment. ORS-class heavy cruiser Varric Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Primary Assembly Forges *'Role:' Survey; compliance; command *'Crew:' 16 Superiors;; 70 Engineers; 1,200 Menials *'Troops:' 400 Obedientaries; 6,000 Warriors; 8,500 Thralls *'Length:' 3,000 metric tons *'Mass:' 200 million metric tons *'Armament:' 1x Phar-pattern excavation beam; 1x Ventrax-pattern heavy plasma lance; 48x Melusean-pattern heavy plasma cannon; 3x Felo-pattern plasma beam emitter; 16x Qur-pattern plasma torpedo silos; 16x Fet-pattern bombardment mortars; 80x Phot Et-pattern pulse lasers The first ORS-class heavy cruisers were commissioned to fight the bloody civil wars and slaughter which typified the Covenant's violent Ages of Conflict and Doubt in its early centuries. To the Covenant for a while, each ORS-class ship is an icon of ancient honour, and their accumulated glory reflects on the hand-picked crews who serve on them. Following the Great Schism, many found themselves in the service of warlords more pragmatic than pious, their glorious names and deed forgotten and the Covenant's successors squabbled over the ruins of empire. Manned by crews blooded in conflict and of undisputed fervour, the Covenant's examiners are extraordinarily powerful warships commissioned in times of great need and allocated only to those who have proven to be both judicious in action and bold indeed. Their missions determined the fate of entire worlds and species, and only the Hierarchs could grant approval for a ministry to activate, crew, and deploy one of these mighty vessels. Far more of these great ships survive the Covenant War and Great Schism that many suspect, though they are spread across the far reached of the Orion Arm and have yet to receive orders to return. *Phantom **Phantoms are fast, heavily-armed assault dropships used by the Covenant to ferry troops, armoured vehicles, and prefabricated fortifications from staging areas and carrier directly to the battlefield. Their sleek silhouette remains imprinted in the minds of humanity's veterans and will remain an enduring symbol of the Covenant War for decades to come. *Ancient Hulls **Even by Covenant standards, most ORS-class vessels are old, and their operation is difficult and labour-intensive compared to other warships. For example, special interpreters and scholars are needed on the bridge, as many of the ship's controls and data feeds only display now-cryptic messages in early Sangheili dialects. *Forerunner Heart **Shrine-cores used in the ORS-class are ancient power planets of various sizes and configurations. These furnaces must be handled carefully; drawing on their untapped potential risks turning the ship into incandescent debris. Its full power is restrained with the devotional seals and interlocks which harness them to Covenant control systems and weapons. *Plasma Lance **A heavy energy projector that fires tightly focused streams of high-velocity plasma at its enemies. Plasma lances do damage with a combination of thermal kinetic effects, and at close range are capable of cutting unshielded warships in half. *Engineering **The ship's blessed keepers practice many strange rituals to appease Forerunner security systems locked in the engine's heart. *Escorts **The crew of CRS-class light cruisers assigned as escorts for heavy cruisers were willing to make almost any sacrifice to be judged worthy to serve aboard the main ship *Covenant Shrine-Cores **The ORS-class was among those blessed with the installation of a shrine-core: irreplaceable relics extracted from dead or dying Forerunner god-machines by Covenant exploration and recovery teams. Though their inner workings are a mystery, each found new purpose and life as a tool of the Prophets, modified and integrated into Covenant vessels with the aid of Huragok savant-technicians. Covenant Inseration Pod, Individual Assault Carapace Suspa Al Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Tertiary Assembly Forges *'Role:' Transport *'Crew:' 1 Warrior *'Length:' 5.9 metres *'Mass:' 500 kilograms *'Armament:' N/A Known as the Suspa Al seed" to the Covenant, this pattern of small insertion pod was rarely seen, for artisans allied with Zealot military orders jealously guarded the secrets of its construction. Only the most pious of commanders were granted the honour of requisitioning these pods, and only their use in war guaranteed replacements. The collapse of the Covenant has changed little, though the Zealots are now divided in loyalties and exercise less discretion in judging the worthy. Covenant orbital assaults are simple, direct applications of power. Unlike the ODSTS, who use their pods to achieve a variety of strategic aims, there is only one mission for Covenant troops deployed from orbit: direct assault. Covenant drop pods deploy in insertion pods which range in size from one-seat assault and breaching pods to building-sized mass deployment carapaces that carry entire armies into battle. *Covenant Meteoric Assaults **Each Covenant warrior leaves their ship with the expectation that they alone may survive to reach the surface and carry out the will of the Prophets. The duty of troops in a meteoric assault is particularly clear and simple: complete the mission or die in the attempt, It is a challenge Sangheili relish, but a fate that others in the Covenant reluctantly resign themselves to. *Inertial Compensation **The door of the insertion pod contains inertial compensation stasis generators. These mitigate the risk of the occupant being injured or killed during transit and pre-impact deceleration. *Control **Unlike human equivalents, the Covenant operator has considerable discretion in how the insertion pod maneuvers during a drop. *Shock Couch **Each insertion pod carries a single warrior cocooned in cushioning gravitic webs, ready for battle the instant the vehicle hits the ground. The interior of the pod and all safety features are optimized for Sangheili use. *Boarding Prow **The bottom of the pod doubles as an armour-piercing ram that can punch through an enemy warship's hull or fortified bunker to deliver the warrior directly into the heart of the opposition. *Impulse Drives **Covenant insertion pods used compact, high-thrust impulse drive to perform evasive maneuvers and brake before impact. *Elite Warriors **Sangheili selected for orbital drops possess an iron will and unquenchable bloodlust. Many were from the Zealot order or aspired to membership in one of their chapter houses. Agricultural Support Ship, DSC-class Mjern Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Primary Assembly Forges *'Roles:' Food production; seminary *'Crew:' 1 Precentor; 40 Hieromonks; 10 Celebrants; 110 Superiors; 20 Engineers; 9,800 Menials *'Troops:' 7 Obedientaries; 150 Warriors *'Length:' 1,550 metres *'Mass:' 82 million metric tons *'Armament:' 12x Melusean-pattern heavy plasma cannons; 8x Jaet-pattern plasma torpedo silos; 20x Pallio-pattern pulse lasers Long before the Covenant turned its fleets against humanity, their ships journeyed far and wide in search of relics and species to put on the Great Journey's path. Bulk transports and barged based on High Charity supply the need for food, water, and power cells for most fleets, but the DSC-class and its sister ships provide support to Covenant forces that venture further from established supply lines, utilizing their hydroponic pods for food production, hunting grounds for recreation, and great maintenance forges to mend the fleet's arms and armour. Covenant procurators and other support ships that provide sustenance and diversion are never directly under the command of the militant orders or system governors, through their missions are so closely aligned that disagreements are rare. These ships contain assembly forges, grow food for massive resource outposts, and house the Huragok needed for repair of vital Forerunner mechanisms. Availability of procurators was never an issue during the height of Covenant power, for ultimately they are instruments of compliance that reinforce dependency on the Prophets among both colonies and fleets. In order to restrict the power of the Sangheili and militant factions, there are few means to acquire the dedicated services of support ships except by the direct intervention of a Hierarch. Each Supreme Commander is ultimately responsible for ensuring that this approval is gained and maintained, while also conducting the political machinations needed to ensure warriors, vehicles, and ammunition are delivered at regular intervals. *Last Exiles **The shipmasters of the Covenant support ships were minor Prophets who served the fleet's Supreme Commander as a religious authority, logistics coordinator, and mediator. The Prophet of Truth lured many such bureaucrats into his service before the Great Schism with promises of wealth and privilege, turning their vessels to support his Jiralhanae fleets. With the loss of High Charity and death of Truth, they fled, abandoning the Covenant to join the surviving San'Shyuum in exile. *Tertiary Assembly Forges **Factories and workshops aboard each support ship produce food packs, maintenance kits, clothing, and even small arms for the fleet. Excess production is shipped to High Charity for redistribution. *Hunting Domes **The stately hunting does serve as training areas, recreational zones, cloisters of worship and animal paddocks. Each support ship can support multiple unique biomes, though most replicate environments comfortable to the San'Shyuum and Sangheili. A few services the peculiar needs of other species, including vermiaries that sustain Lekgolo colonies are transplanted from their homes on Te. *Proselytization Network **Mediator consoles and relays for the Covenant-wide supraluminal communications network. Through the proselytization network, the Prophets reach faithful hearts to coordinate military and administrative activities across the empire's many worlds. *Genecrafter Vaults **The Ministry of Preparation built and maintained specialized support ships fitted with arcane instrumentation and a staff of chirurgeons to create Prelates, genetically-enhanced San'Shyuum super soldiers. *Ren **The Ren is a small Covenant utility shittle of San'Shyuum origin. It is fitted with four impulse drives and is nearly as fast and manoeuvrable as a Seraph fighter, though most are not armed. The Ren's compact slipspace drives make it a fantastically valuable vehicle for traders and smugglers. *Light cruiser **The Prophets called upon their remaining loyal shepherd before departing known space. Shadow of Intent, Kerel-pattern CAS-class assault carrier *'Naval Architects:' Prophet of Expediency Giehel Vange; Vice-Miniser of Sacred Assembly *'Manufacturer:' Lathe of the Enlightened, Song of Victory *'Mass:' 2.7 bullion metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' 3x Raphyus-pattern repulsor engines *'Translight Engine:' Primus-pattern borer *'Crew:' 200 Superiors; 10 Engineers *'Troops:' 40,000 Warriors *'Armament:' 1x Infernus-pattern superheavy excavation beams; 2x Urpeon-pattern superheavy plasma lances; 8x Luxor-pattern heavy plasma beam emitters; 24x Mictix-pattern heavy plasma torpedo silos; 700x Ferriel-pattern pulse lasters *'Shielding:' Tantalus-pattern Dispersal Field Generators *'Complement:' 64x Seraph strikecraft; 192x Banshee Fighter strikecraft; 20x Tick boarding pods; 44x Phantom dropships; 8x Phantom gunboat assault ships; 3x Scarab platforms; 600 Banshee flyers; 196x Wraith mortar tanks; 44x Shadow transports; 700x Ghost scouts; 250x Insertion pods. *'Length:' 5,347 metres *'Height:' 756 metres The Shadow of Intent is a massive assault carrier that harbours legions of Sangheili warriors and their panoply of war at the command of the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam. Shadow of Intent performs vital roles for the Swords of Sanghelios alliance by reacting to Covenant incursions, conduction diplomatic trips to remote colonies to grow support, eliminating marauders from resource colonies, and pursuing San'Shyuum criminals. *Scarred by War **With the destruction of High Charity and loss of Ministry records, very little is known of the operational history of the Shadow of Intent, though scars in its ancient frame tell of great battles won and trials overcome through the centuries. Blackened gashes caused by human nuclear weapons still dot the hull, with boiled armour and melted weapon batteries a grim reminder of plasma torpedo duels against San'Shyuum and Jiralhanae warships during and after the Great Schism. Full repairs must be deferred as long as the Covenant presses its attack on Sanghelios itself. *Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum **The carrier's bridge is located in an armoured command pod buried deep in the ship. It is here that the Arbiter's most trusted lieutenant, the legendary special forces commander Rtas 'Vadum, sits in the shipmaster's chair. *Combat Damage **The deeper crew compartments of the Shadow were wrecked and hastily sealed during fierce hand-to-hand boarding actions between Sangheili and Jiralhanae during the Great Schism. *Blademaster's Yard **A new generation of Sangheili swordmasters fill these halls, mixing ancient ritual education with the latest War Games technology acquired from the UNSC. *Runic Plating **The Arbiter's Huraogok savant-technicians have been allowed to make any alteration they wish during repairs. The results of the labour are lattices of Forerunner composites woven with new energy conduits of unknown purpose. *Assault Carriers **Each CAS-class assault carrier was a cornerstone of Covenant expeditionary and compliance fleets. Their crews had the weighty responsibility of ensuring that the light of the Prophets illuminated all who were worthy, and cleansed those who faltered along the Great Journey. The Swords of Sanghelios have the equally daunting task of undoing all that the Covenant accomplished in order to build a better tomorrow. *Main Reactor **Nonessential ship systems have been rendered inert or disconnected, allowing the output of the main pinch-fusion reactor to be diverted entirely to weapons and propulsion. *Engineering **The best and brightest artisan-armourers of the Swords of Sanghelios can be found here, along with "consultants" from Venezia. *Old and New **The smooth hull and distinctive near cowling marks the Shadow of Intent as a Kerel-pattern assault carrier, a rare Hierarch-approved variant of the more common Syfon configuration. *Nave of the Creators **Not all Sangheili have abandoned the old faith, as the immaculate condition of this shrine to the Forerunners attests. *Skeleton Crew **Assault carriers are normally crewed by an order of magnitude more personnel, but the swords of Sanghelios do not have warriors and technicians to spare. *Hangar **Legions of Swords of Sanghelios encamp in the hangars while they are moved to new warzones, filling the cavernous space with songs of battle and the scents of exotic foods from remote Sangheili colonies. *War Graves **Many compartments in the Shadow of Intent's outer hull are inaccessible due to battle damage. Ruined halls and collapsed chamber are filled with damage control foam and entombed corpses. Covenant Light Cruiser, CRS-class Zanar pattern *'Manufacturer:' Secondary Assembly Forges *'Roles:' Investigation; security *'Crew:' 1 Superior; 8 Menials *'Troops:' N/A *'Length:' 300 metres *'Mass:' 190,000 metric tons *'Armament:' 2x Erex-pattern plasma beam emitters; 6x Sintra-pattern plasma torpedo silos; 4x Pok-pattern beam lasers The CRS-class is classified as a light cruiser by the UNSC, but has a role analogous to a UEG police cutter within the Covenant, patrolling inhabited star systems and intercepting civilian vessels to conduct routine inspections or enforce travel laws. Though coms were used in the crusading fleets attacking humanity, most ensured that tithe ships reached their destinations or protected convoys of pilgrims passing to and from High Charity. It was from these rear-echelon fleets that Jul 'Mdama acquired light cruiser to augment his forces at Requiem. Any Covenant military starship that does not warrant a shipmaster's chair and associated honours are classified as an attack ship. Their role is ambiguous among Sangheili commanders, as they are not considered true warships, nor do they demand consideration in the plans of a Supreme Commander. Most are commanded by Kig-Yar or Jiralhanae, who are usually less obsessed with the acquisition of glory and recognition of accomplishments in battle. *Honour and Glory **For San'Shyuum and Sangheili, honour is a "currency" acquired by accepting tangible rewards decorations, and offices that increase their reputation and influence within the Covenant at large. Honour is not limited to individuals, institutions and even ships have their own inherent honour that reflects glory. For the example, a warship's accumulated battle honours add prestige to the current shipmaster and crew. *Whispers **The control coils of CRS-class ships require careful tuning to avoid causing disorientation and hallucination among the crew when operating at full power. *Banshee **Easy to manufacture, highly maneuverable, and heavily armed, the Banshee is a ubiquitous vehicle among the Covenant fleet. These swift crafts accompany attack ships in planetary assaults to serve as both point defence and forward observers for plasma beams and torpedo strikes. *Beam Lasers **Two dedicated augur arrays allow each of the four Pok-pattern high energy lasers to target dozens of targets in quick succession. These are used to pick off targets of opportunity with minimal collateral damage during suppression operations on Covenant worlds. *Atavistic Expression **In rare cases, sensor arrays on CRS-class light cruiser exhibit aberrant mutations during assembly that make them appear friendly to Forerunner god-machine defence protocols. *Phantom Dropship **Supplies and fresh crews are often transported to attack ships using dropships. *Plasma Torpedoes **Sintra-pattern plasma torpedoes are extremely swift but almost impossible to control in flight. They are best employed in a bombardment role. *Mutation **The Zanar-pattern is a stable mutation of the much larger Ket and Elefen-pattern battlecruisers. Mutations of design patterns are rare, and with few exceptions, they result in the ships being recycled, the design pattern deleted, and the assembly forge reset Covenant Troop Carrier, Spirit Dextro Xur Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Tertiary Assembly Forges *'Roles:' Transport *'Crew:' 2 Obedientaries; 30 Warriors *'Troops:' None *'Length:' 30.5 metres *'Mass:' 69 metric tons *'Armament:' 1x Murien-pattern heavy plasma cannon Well-armoured and capable of operating in atmosphere and space with equal ease, the Spirit served as the Covenant's primary dropship and utility transport centuries before humanity encountered it on Harvest in 2525. At full capacity, the Spirit carries a Covenant officer and his full retinue; a combat unit analogues to a human squad, but directly translated as "lance". The Covenant's war hosts are extremely difficult to marshal and coordinate at large scales, despite the near-absolute power that the fleet's Supreme Commander can exercise over his forces. Troop carrier deployments are carefully planned both to minimize the potential for friendly fire during the chaotic opening stages of an invasion and to forcefully direct units who would otherwise work at the expense of larger objectives in their hunger for glory. The smallest troop carriers are equivalent to human dropships, carrying combat detachments to and from the battlefield or transporting supplies needed to set up base camps and forward staging zones. Tens of thousands of this craft were deployed against human worlds, and their distinctive silhouettes and auditory signature are burned into the minds of survivors and soldiers. *Drop Bays **The Spirit can carry up to thirty Covenant infantry, split between the two troop bays positioned on either side. Apart from stasis harnesses that buffer the stress of evasive maneuvers and turbulence, there are no safety systems installed in the bays to protect passengers stationed within. *Gravity Hoist **The gravity hoist can lift and lock-in either two small craft or a single large vehicle. The Spirit features a uniquely stable contragravity system, which can adapt to a wide range of load profiles without any apparent compensation delays or loss of efficacy. *UNSC Analysis And Assessment **Most Covenant troop carriers captured by human forces were disassembled or tested to destruction for insight into the aliens' technology and vulnerabilities, but a few were flown and reverse-engineered by ONI's threat modelling teams to build simulators for UNSC pilots. *Sensors **The Spirit's sensors and flight control system are intuitive and well-integrated, giving the pilot excellent situational awareness of anti-aerospace threats and environmental hazards. *Cockpit **The Spirit's pilot and sensor operator stand in an armoured command pod in the rear. *Field Shaping Vanes **All Covenant dropships use field-shaping to modify their aerodynamic profile, but this has little defensive application. Protective energy shields could be fitted, but there were few reasons to do so before the war against humanity. *Plasma Cannon **Below the pilot's cabin is the Spirit's solitary defensive weapon, a full rotation plasma cannon turret. The cannon is an ancient design, and its fire control system speaks in command codes only barely intelligible to modern users. A simpler, manually controlled version of this used in some Shade turret patterns. *Pilots **Many Sangheili dislike piloting dropships, preferring to leave this task to Unggoy and Kig-Yar instead. Ardent Prayer, SDV-class heavy corvette *'Naval Architects:' Master Shipwright Ckmu 'Raboree, Apprentice Hiverseeker Tek'ch *'Manufacturer:' Forgemasters of Tanus, Gorgon Assembly Vault *'Mass:' 8 million metric tons *'Maneuver Drive:' 4x Callipoas-pattern repulsor engines *'Translight Engine:' Tyros-pattern borer Series VI equivalent *'Crew:' 16 Superiors; 2 Engineers; 20 Menials *'Troops:' 50 Obedientaries; 50 Warriors; 130 Thralls *'Armament:' 6x Melusean-pattern heavy plasma cannons; 16x Carnax Nu-pattern plasma bombardment mortars; 11x Phot-pattern pulse lasers *'Shielding:' Morelia-pattern dispersal field generators *'Complement:' 8x Seraph strikecraft; 10x Banshee Fighter strikecraft; 8x Banshee flyers; 2x Spirit troop carriers; 104x insertion pods *'Length:' 956 metres *'Height:' 175 metres The Ardent Prayer was one of many small Covenant warships that performed vital roles for their fleets, but possesses no battle honours of note and are rarely mentioned in High Charity's records. Mass-assembled during an earlier era of glorious exploration, the Ardent Prayer and its sister's vessels travelled to distant stars, charted dangerous slipspace routes, and fought civilizations that resisted the light of the Prophet's truth; but such matters are considered beneath the attention of true warriors. After two Ages of dutiful service, the vessel met its end while undertaking a holy mission to recover artifacts at a planet the humans called Reach. *Ushab-pattern stealth generator **Powerful distortion screens and a multispectral hypersink render the ship practically invisible to long-range passive sensors. *Insertion pod launcher **Insertion pods launch from SDV-class vessels gain a temporary signature reduction when passing through the ship's distortion screen *Shipmaster Ardo 'Moretumee **A leader of few words, shipmaster Ardo 'Moratumee climbed the ranks with a mix of martial prowess and tactical cunning. Though his family held considerable power in the Covenant High Council his personal ambitions were impossible to discern. *Proselytization Network Relay **A long-range communication system for synchronizing orders and edicts. *Seraph strikecraft **Every pilot aboard the Ardent Prayer was trained by famed Skymaster 'Dalanebee and carried a crystalline cartouche etched with his seven principles of the aerial hunt. *Habitats **There are no long-term accommodations except those of the shipmaster. The crew use stimulants and dream-shapers to stay alert for their tour, then rotate with fresh personnel at the end of each mission. *The Fleet of Valiant Prudence **Ardent Prayer was but one ship in the Fleet of Valiant Prudence, a task force charged by the Ministry of Fervent Intercession with the recovery and research of Forerunner artifacts. *Operation Upper Cut **While returning from a mission of Reach, the Ardent Prayer was boarded by Noble Team Spartans and Army troopers who were transporting a sabotaged slipspace drive. After taking control, Noble Team put the ship back on its resupply course to the Covenant supercarrier Long Night of Solace, then activated drive. The spatial rupture destroyed both vessels and the lone Spartan who stayed behind to ensure mission success. Sangheili Fast Interdictors. Blockade Runner Hekar Taa Pattern *'Manufacturer:' Vassal Workshops of Clan Makan and Clan Vol *'Roles:' Attack *'Crew:' 5 Superiors; 220 Menials *'Troops:' 15 Obedientaries; 100 Warriors; 500 Thralls *'Length:' 2,020 metres *'Mass:' 80 million metric tons *'Armament:' 1x Pherex-patterm excavation beam; 3x Corven-patterm plasma beam emitters; 24x Gaff Naran-patterm plasma cannons; 16x Litrex-patterm plasma torpedo silos; 10x Eriu-patterm pulse lasers Thought lost to time, Blockade Runners are warships dating back to the War of Beginnings. Many have been pulled from a grand fleet of the ossuary in the outer edge of the Joori system and reconditioned for war by Jul 'Mdama and Thel 'Vadam. These were part of a fleet that once belonged to Ophon 'Qaram, a legendary apostate and Supreme Commander who vanished from history after refusing to join the Covenant. Blockade Runners were his signature warship used to quickly strike San'Shyuum fortifications then vanish before retaliation could be directed their way. Not all Sangheili clans surrendered their military power to the San'Shyuum after the formation of the Covenant. Those who hoped to stage an eventual rebellion sen their fleets to drift in the space between stars or in a cavern carved under airless worlds, then burn their memory and honour from all data archives. Forgotten by all but a few lineages of remembrancers, these vestiges are ancient instruments of power and destruction reclaimed by warring Sangheili factions following the Great Schism to bring glory to their shipmasters and spread carnage among the stars. *Form and Function **Sangheili artisans and architects take much of their inspiration from nature, both in the structures they raise from the ground and the ships they take to the stars. The hull design of the Blockade Runner is based on the arkon taa, a carnivorous fish found in the northern waters of Sanghelios. Roughly the size of a Sangheili's first, these creatures are feared and respected not for their size, but for their incredible attacking speed and fearlessness. *Eyes in the Dark **The ancient hyper scanner panels of vestige warships are far superior to most human sensors, but Covenant warships can easily avoid their gaze. *Weapon Batteries **The weapons of the Blockade Runner are antiquated, not ineffective. Though the older style of energy projectors lacks range and delicacy, they do not disappoint in raw power. The plasma cannons can also be overcharged to levels well beyond what the Covenant considered prudent; this can give the ship a tactical edge, but inexperience crews run the risk of accidentally crippling the weapons with over-eager aggressiveness. *Hangar **Every Blockade Runner was stocked with ancient patterns of Banshee and other craft when they entered storage. These were discarded or recycled when the ships were restored to active duty. *Repulsor Drives **Modern Covenant repulsor drives are finely tuned and expected to operate for years between maintenance refreshes. The engines on the Blockade Runner are cruder instruments that require constant monitoring adjustment to operate at full power. *Life Support **Vestiges are purely Sangheili warships: facilities for other species are clumsy retrofits. Even many Sangheili find shipboard conditions uncomfortable, as they are not accustomed to the scented air and droning subsonic hymnals that were standard features two millennia ago. *New Inspiration **During their early interstellar period, each Sangheili clan had a distinctive approach to starship engineering. A new generation of shipwrights now look to these vestiges both to learn their history and document engineering solutions which were lost, suppressed, or ignored by the Covenant. *Battleworn **The vestiges are heirlooms of a time when the Sangheili were united in defence against the overwhelming power of the San'Shyuum's keyship> Now chaos reigns as brother turns against brother and the ancient warships are pulled from their hallowed resting places to burn what they were built to protect. *Lich **Rarely seen outside Covenant space until after the Great Schism, the Lich and other deployment platforms were typically found in civilian and security roles, until demand for troop transports exceeded supply. Forerunner Sojourner Dreadnought, Prime Dragoon *'MANUFACTURER:' Summus Assembler Vats *'ROLES:' Attack *'CREW:' 1 Princeps; 15 Navarchs *'TROOPS:' 200 Scutarii; 5,000 Venatores *'LENGTH:' 9,430 meters *'MASS:' 10 billion metric tons *'ARMAMENT:' 1x torsion driver: 28x converging beam cannons, 300x light mass fusillade cannons Last in a line of first-order warships stretching back to the Forerunners interstellar expansion, the Sojourner was introduced shortly before containment efforts against the Flood began and fought in all major engagements of the war that followed. It was the pinnacle of Forerunner naval technology: impossibly fast, heavily armed, and highly efficient. The dragoons led strikes deep into the Flood-dominated wastelands known as the Burn to ruthlessly cauterize even the slightest hint of infection; an ultimately futile effort. *Dragoon At the height of their power, the Forerunner navy was a peerless and unstoppable peace that both shielded and chastened species under the Mantle of Responsibility. Their warships wielded weapons of light and force, their presence announced by a vast entourage of weapon-ships and combat Sentinels dancing in tactical patterns arranged by the greatest living and artificial minds in the Forerunner ecumene. *The Hunters Forerunner ships require only a handful of living beings to oversee operations. On warships, the crew were specialists known as navarchs, led by the ship's princep. They were protected by heavily armored Warrior-Servant scutarii who excelled in shipboard combat and tactical reconfiguration of the ship's interior spaces, while the war sphinx-clad venatores directed the ship's millions of autonomous hunter-killers on long-range strikes. *Converging Beam Cannons Forerunner warships wield tendrils of energy that seek out enemy vessels and provide a path for follow-on antimatter streams that consume everything they touch. The Warrior-Servants who controlled these weapons were artists in their application, weaving tapestries of death that sought out even the smallest weakness in Flood defenses. *Auspex Array Dragoons are fitted with long-range scanning systems that peer through slipspace to look for approaching ships or probe vast distances to realspace to instantly map local star systems. They are able to detect the subtle changes in planetary or ship atmosphere which indicate the presence of Flood contamination. *Torsion Driver The primary weapon of the Sojourner is a capital-scale torsion driver, a gravitic emitter that can be used as a delicate grasping tool or crude scalpel. In battle it pushes and pulls portions of the enemy ships beyond the limits of their shielding and structural supports with discordant harmonies, ripping them apart and exposing vulnerable systems to concentrate fire by the dreadnought's other weapons. *Killing Blades Millions of Sojourners were raised up and thrown against the Flood, but in the end, only a handful remained intact to see Halo fire. Those still undergoing assembly at hidden harbors around the galaxy grew tall and ready for deployment, but remain silent and empty without Warrior-Servants or ancilla to light their darkened cores. *Warrior-Servants The Forerunners mastered and endlessly refined many arts, and their military caste, the stoic Warrior-Servants crewed mighty dragoons and other dreadnoughts while clad in ornate combat skins and mighty war sphinxes, burning Flood-infested ships from spore-choked skies and lancing corrupted starships before they could spread their plagued cargo. They fought bravely and with unmatched strategic genius, but the Gravemind had their measure. Only when the cleansing energies of Halo washed over the galaxy did the last of the Forerunners' defenders know victory over the parasite, then death. Phaeton, Tertiary Weapon-Ship *'MANUFACTURER:' Minoris Assembler Vats *'ROLES:' Ground attack; infantry support *'CREW:' 1 pilot *'LENGTH:' 10.3 metres *'MASS:' 8 metres *'ARMAMENT:' 2x light mass cannons; 2x pulse missile launchers The Phaeton is a weapon-ship employed during combat operations on the planetary surface. Via AI control, a single Forerunner warrior would command tens of thousands of these craft during containment operations. Millions were organized into single-purpose tactical phalanxes to cut into the heart of Flood hives, incinerate cities converted into monstrous mountains of corrupted biomass, or as was often the case sacrifice themselves to cover fighting retreats. Though not intended for the role, Phaetons were also deployed to serve with orbiting quarantine fleets, supplementing fighters and harriers by acting as point defence against incoming waves of Flood boarding pods and hijacked civilian ships. *Weapon-Ships The Forerunners used a variety of autonomous drone craft to carry out combat tasks considered beneath the dignity and worth of living Warrior-Servants. The most common were weapon-ships, small auxiliaries deployed in the millions to serve as scouts, escorts, and shields. All of them were disposable pawns of the fleet commanders and major Forerunner battle sites are invariably littered with vast clouds of their wreckage. *Flarecore Flarecores are a form of capacitor used by Forerunner combat machines that need intense bursts of power. Depleted flarecores are difficult to recharge using Covenant or human power systems as the inner workings are a mystery. *Pilot's Cocoon Access to the pilot's compartment is via a short-range translocation shunt initiated from an access panel to the rear of the flarecore. This brief journey is fatal to most living creatures not clad in a combat skin or power armor. *Weapon Loadout The Phaeton's most widespread pattern is armed with twin-linked burst cannon and two pulse missile launchers. *Smartmatter The structure of many Forerunner machines is composed of self-assembling micro-machine blocks reinforced by energy bonds. Combat damage caused these bonds to fail and machine-cells to lose cohesion until the entire assembly disintegrates into fine dust and hard-light embers. *Monitors Ancilla and composed minds who manage and maintain Phaeons stored within Forerunner facilities. *Mutable Pattern Many specialized Phaeton weapon-ships exist. For example, the offensive Helios pattern is armed with a cleansing beam and rapid-fire pulse missile pods, while the defensive Eos pattern has a constructor beam and can lay shield generator pylons. *Tactical Expediency By Forerunner standards the Phaeton was cheap and utterly disposable. Yet by the end of their empire, even these simple vehicles could no longer be mass produced without sacrificing other strategic options. *Engine Pods The engine pods of the Phaeton house contragravity generators and the equipment needed to conduct short-range translocation jumps. The Phaeton can also access translocation grids found on Forerunner planets and installations, allowing it to make long-range teleports. Anodyne Spirit, Keyship *'NAVAL ARCHITECTS:' Grasping-Steady-Firmament; Lightning Weaving-Helix *'MANUFACTURER:' Ingens Assembly Vats *'MASS:' 19 billion metric tons *'MANEUVER DRIVE:' Torsion plates *'TRANSLIGHT ENGINE:' Crystal-mediated slipspace core in *'CREW:' 1 Princep; 3 Navarchs; 1 Archmedicus, 560 Adjutants *'TROOPS:' 100 Scutarii *'ARMAMENT:' 1x light mass fusillade array, 3x anti-ship artillery systems *'SHIELDING:' Prime dispersal field generator *'COMPLEMENT:' 1,224x Strato-Sentinels: 48x Strix-class harriers; 890,000x Sentinels and weapon-ships *'HEIGHT:' 13,120 metres *'WIDTH:' 12,441 metres The Anodyne Spirit is one of the mighty Forerunner keyships a massive repository of genetic possibility and a life-giving factory used to reseed the galaxy with sentient species after the Halo superweapons fired. Built in the twilight of Forerunner civilization to carry out the last-ditch Conservation Measure, the Spirit's fearless crew ranged deep into Flood-corrupted territory to locate planets untouched by the parasite and index a cross-section of their biodiversity before it could be consumed. The Anodyne Spirit and her sister ships saved countless species before retiring to the Ark for storage, securing the Forerunner legacy as faithful keepers of the Mantle of Responsibility. There it remained for centuries until it's repurposing began a chain of events that led to both the creation of the Covenant and their genocidal campaign against humanity. *Renegade Mind Anodyne Spirit was stolen from the Ark by Mendicant Bias, a rogue Forerunner metarch seeking redemption for its unforgivable crimes against the Mantle. Unfortunately, the escaping keyship crashed on Janjur Qom, homeworld of the San'Shyuum *Living Helix The crew had little time to appreciate the communal areas and workspaces made available to them. *Builder's Record Upon reaching their target world, the crew of the Keyship initiated a detailed ecological cataloging and sample collection process to create a store of living and digitized genetical potential. *Conversion pods These harvested quantum fluctuations to power the ship's engines and defensive systems. *Presever Unlike most Forerunner ships crafted by the Builder rate, the form of the keyship was fixed; flexibility was sacrificed for structural strength and unity of purpose. *Warrior-Servant's duty A small detachment of Warrior-Servants and combat Sentinels dealt with rare cases in which indexing operations aroused a violent response. *Miner's Key Keyships possessed the permission codes and interlocks needed to command and power the great Forerunner complexes buried on strategic planets around the galaxy *The Dreadnought Anodyne Spirit was docked in High Charity for millennia after it was used by the San'Shyuum to force the Sangheili into a ceasefire and eventual alliance during the War of Beginnings. Known as the Dreadnought, it remained a source of power and worship until the Prophet of Truth removed the ship from its moorings during his abandonment of the Covenant capital to the Flood. Taken to Earth, the ship was used to activate a long-dormant slipspace portal, propelling Truth and his force to the Ark on a misguided quest for transcendence. *Lifeworker's Cylix Exemplary sentients were identified in the world's population and retrieved by force, if necessary for stasis storage and transport. Mantle's Approach, Promethean Command Ship *'MANUFACTURER:' Master Builder's Fabricae *'ROLES:' Domination *'CREW:' 1 Strategos; 25 Princeps; 800 Navarchs *'TROOPS:' 250,000 Praetorians; 5.5 million Venatores *'HEIGHT:' 371.4 kilometres *'MASS:' 4.7 quadrillion metric tons *'ARMAMENT:' 1x heavy ion weapon systeml 1x stasis tensions driver; 40x torsion driver arrays; 1,700x light mass fusillade cannons; 25,000x converging beam cannons Mantle's Approach is the Didact's personal ship of war; a flagship from which he directed Promethean forces against the Flood, and the instrument of vengeance from which he led his campaign against humanity upon release from his imprisonment on Requiem. Though much of the vessel was destroyed by the actions of Master Chief, self-preservation protocols shunted the core of Mantle's Approach to the nearest repair facility on record, a world known as Genesis. *Hall of Command Forerunner vessels rarely feature easily identifiable control centers, and their ships routinely operate semi-autonomously under ancilla control. Netherless, it occasionally proved convenient to gather key personnel for protection, monitoring, and camaraderies. The Didact direct his forces from a specialized command cluster within the Mantle's Approach known as the Hall of Command. *Heroes Walk The Didact's hopeless crusade against the Flood demanded not only the bodies and minds of his loyal Warrior-Servants but their identity and history as well. After their composition into Knights, the barracks, training grounds, museums, and halls of honor that served flesh-and-blood Prometheans were no longer necessary or useful for their reborn construct bodies and dulled personalities. *The Composer The Composer is a Forerunner neural physics device used to break down living creatures and convert their mind-state into digital essence through a painful, destructive process charitably called sublimation. The essence can then be transferred into machine storage for safekeeping or interrogation. The Didact used a composer to make his Promethean warriors immune to the Flood by transferring their Composed essences to Knight construct bodies. *Stasis Tension Driver A product of the Didact's genius in war, the stasis tension driver is an array of three projectors that pair quantum singularity generators with repurposed torsion drivers. Together they generate localized space-time distortions that impede formations of slip space ruptures and jam all supraluminal communications and sensors. *Core Seed Mantle's Approach can renew itself if the central core of the ship survives, provided it has access to raw materials of sufficient quality. *Reconciliation Debt All faster-than-light movement and communication create a dangerous "reconciliation debt" of causality violations both in the ship and surrounding space-time. The resulting hyperspatial strain interferes with slipspace travel and supraluminal communication over a wide area until the effect dissipates. Even elaborate and draconian traffic management never fully mitigated the corrosive effects of abusing slip space at the scale demanded by the Forerunners, which restricted their military options and fleet mobility during the critical early years of the Flood outbreak. *Variable geometry hull The unique design seed of Mantle's Approach was modified and approved by non-other than the Master Builder, greatest of the Forerunner engineers and architects. Built of programmable matter, solidified light, and energy interlocks, the ship can reshape itself to defeat the ever-changing tactics of virulent parasite and cunning human alike. *Exalted Sepulcher After it was remodelled to service composed Prometheans, the Mantle's Approach could build and hold over a billion Knight shells, but there were never enough essences available to fill the empty vessels. Vast numbers of these inert war frames survived in their maintenance cradles when remnants of the Mantle's Approach arrived at Genesis. *Heavy Ion Weapon system Adapted from emplacements used on planet-cracking siege platforms. The main cannon of Mantle's Approach fires a bolt of exotic matter accelerated to a significant fraction of the speed of light. The entire ship must reconfigure itself after firing, but each shot has the power to buckle continental plates and utterly disintegrate even phase-rated fortifications. Glossary *'Ages:' Important periods of Covenant history identified by key themes of Abandonment, Conflict, Conversion, Doubt, Reconciliation, or Reclamation. The war with humanity signaled the end of the 23rd Age of Doubt and the start of the 9th Age of reclamation. *'Artisan-armourers:' Covenant technicians, designers, and forgemaster who operate the assembly forges and maintain design patterns. *'Assembly Forges:' Covenant manufacturing facilities that build items piece-by-piece using clouds of programmable nanomachines. As imperfect recreations of Forerunner assembler vats, assembly forges are susceptible to mutations in design patterns, variance in feedstock material, and transcription errors. The greatest and most capable of assembly forges were installed in High Charity. *'Associated Intelligence:' Dumb AI constructs used by the Covenant in limited applications. Contact with logic plague code-strings and other issues led to the Prophets banning most AI research, but captured human AIs and feral ancilla were carefully studied. *'Battlenet:' Distributed battle management and communications network. Forms the core of Covenant and UNSC decision support systems, which route intel and orders to military units on combat operations. *'Cleansing:' Covenant term for the major compliance operations. *'Chirurgeons:' San'Shyuum biomedical specialists in the Ministry of Preparation dedicated to the study of Lifeworker secrets once locked in the Forerunner Dreadnought *'Covenant:' A theocratic dictatorship, unified in the belief that the Forerunners built the Halo Array to transcend the mundane world and enter a high plane of existence. The Covenant's search for the Sacred Rings and path to salvation was known as the Great Journey. *'Covenant War:' Human name for the genocidal conflict with the Covenant that started with the attack on Harvest in 2525 and ended with the Prophet of Truth's death on the Ark in 2553. *'Design Pattern:' Instructions fed to nanomachines that construct Covenant machinery. Many patterns were based on analysis and replication of Forerunner devices, but improving or substantially altering the work of the gods was heavily restricted and monitored by the Prophets. *'Dreadnought:' Covenant name for the Anodyne Spirit keyship, the most powerful combat vessel in the Orion Arm until the Didact awakened Mantle's Approach. Not to be confused with the general class of warships called dreadnoughts. *'Drop Pod:' Small reentry vehicle used to transport combat troops from orbit to the surface. The Covenant equivalent is known as an insertion pod. *'Dropship:' Transatmospheric vehicle deployed to deliver cargo and personnel to and from orbit. *'Energy Projector:' Covenant directed energy weapon that uses gravitic impellors and magnetic lensing to accelerate, focus, and direct beams of high-intensity plasma generated by the ship's pinch-fusion reactors. The most powerful energy projectors form tight-beam lances for excavation and cutting, while lesser mechanisms emit streams of plasma which are bent towards targets using invisible magnetic fields. *'Energy Shielding:' Network of generators that creates overlapping fields of invisible force that reflect, dissipate, or absorb attacks. Unless generators are damaged or destroyed, the force-field with regenerate. *'Expert System:' General term for autonomous decision-making programs. *'Glassing:' Covenant close-orbit and near-surface bombardment of military urban sites with massed energy projectors. The heat from the bombardment is so great that nearly all objects at the impact point melt away and the underlying soil is vitrified, creating thick layers of glass-like slag, For this reason, the areas of a planet burned by this bombardment are referred to glasslands *'Laser:' Powerful and tightly focused light emitted in nanosecond pulses. Covenant lasers are far more powerful than those used by the UNSC due to their superior power storage systems and gravitic-lensing focal arrays. *'Luminary:' Covenant devices used to detect possible Forerunner relics. All are modelled after an arcane mechanism found aboard the Dreadnought. Its original purpose is unknown. *'Ministries:' Overlapping bureaucracies responsible for executing decisions and interpreting guidance issued by Covenant leadership *'Pinch Fusion:' Covenant fusion reactors use focused gravity generators to replicate conditions inside the core of stars. Pinch fusion reactors generate an enormous amount of power and plasma but are volatile. *'Plasma Torpedo:' Command link-guided projectile surrounded by a superheated plasma sheath. Upon impact, the torpedo releases its deadly payload to disrupt shielding and melt hull plating. *'Prelates:' Bio-modified San'Shyuum super-soldiers with enhanced nervous systems and musculatures. *'Repulse Engine:' Covenant diametric drive, which creates asymmetrical gravity fields that push and pull a ship through space without the need for reaction mass or conventional exhaust. They are an extremely advanced application of gravitics. *'Shipmaster:' Lord of a Covenant ship. They answer only to the fleet's Supreme Commander and serve at his pleasure. Shipmaster duties are analogous to those of captains. *'Strikecraft:' Covenant subluminal, multi-phasic interdiction vehicles. Functionally equivalent to human fighter-bombers and interceptors. *'Supreme Commander:' Covenant fleet master appointed by the Hierarchs to lead major military expeditions. The position is analogous to humanity's Fleet Admirals, but with considerably more autonomy.